Kursk (play)

Kursk is a play by the British playwright Bryony Lavery. It is inspired by the 2000 sinking of the Russian submarine K-141 Kursk and set on a British submarine on a covert mission in the Barents Sea.

Kursk's first run was at the Young Vic in London in 2009; it had a second run at the same theatre in 2010. The play was directed by Mark Espiner and Dan Jones for the theatre company Sound & Fury. It featured set design by Jon Bausor and starred Tom Espiner and Laurence Mitchell. The play utilised a split-level set, which the audience were free to walk around. It was also performed at the Drill Hall in Edinburgh in 2009 and at the Sydney Opera House in 2011.

The Kursk, a nuclear submarine, sank in the Barents Sea in 2000, killing all 118 sailors and officers on board. In order to recreate the experiences of submariners, the directors visited HMNB Devonport, spoke to naval advisers and spent time on an attack submarine.

Kursk tells the story of the sinking of the Kursk from the perspective of the crew of a nearby British submarine. When the explosion of the Kursk is heard the captain of the British vessel is faced with a decision as to whether to go to its aid. The play addresses the question of what would have occurred had a British submarine been watching the Kursk, whether its crew would have intervened in the disaster, and the accompanying ethical and political dilemmas.

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